Here is an index of every review I've done in this section. I've included where to find reviews by other members in my section for fast and easy convenience. At the bottom is a listing of every special I've done, including system analysis and review. I'll keep this page updated.

This is the beginning of my personal ratings section. Each review details my opinions about various aspects of each game title. Preceding each review is a Rating: 0 being the lowest - 10 being the epitimy of quality.

Resident Evil 0 - GameCube - Rating 6
Capcom is probably the most notable third-party developer that develops for Nintendo GC. Whereas many other big name companies are content developing most of their big stuff for other platforms like the PS2 (or even GBA for a quick buck) Capcom has not backed down from supporting Nintendo in the truest sense by developing where it counts most.... on the GC.
Much to my surprise, they added something different for a change to Resident Evil - the ability to switch between two seperate characters on the fly. An interesting addition that is utilized in all too familiar aspects to other games with similar attribute: one character has to stand on a switch to unlock a door while the other makes entry, etc. While this idea is healthy to the RE series, it doesn't make for a drastic enough change in the game mechanics overall. But once you understand it, it works well, to Capcom's credit. The absence of inventory boxes is the most noticeable change. Enemies and bosses are fun to do battle with, though you won't find much difference between this and its predecessors. The graphics are excellent due in no small part to the fact that the only things being rendered are the characters and enemies. All of the backgrounds are stills. Resident Evil 4 is all in-game graphics though and looks fantastic. This verifies what many people already knew -- that the GameCube has remarkable technical capabilities.
The music in this and other RE titles is all very similar to one another. I've always liked the ambient settling calm of the rest area songs. This soundtrack does everything right but lacks any significant memorable tracks. That's ok -- I've never played RE games looking for some incredible music I can listen to. The voices and sound effects are as good as anywhere else.
The third-best experience I've had in the series (behind RE 1 and 2). My first time through was in 4 hours and 24 minues. I beat the sidequest where you collect those slugs with 100% and this opens up infinite ammo on every weapon you get in your next outing, though there's more that can be opened.

Metroid Prime - GameCube - Rating 7
I can't believe it. An American company (Retro Studios) brings a classic Japanese game series, by Nintendo no less, into the 3D realm and does so gracefully. What is going on here!? If you ask me, this is what we need more of: companies that adhere to a higher level of quality. This type of developer is few and far-between, but Nintendo sure knows how to pick 'em out of the pack.
A supremely rewarding adventure that kept me glued from beginning to end. Truly a step in the right direction as far as FPS goes because it does so many things right and doesn't emphasize mindless killing (a-la Doom series and Halo).
Instead, Prime emphasizes what Metroid is best known for: exploration.
All of the weaponry and power-ups that make Samus Aran so uniqe are back and then some, including new types of visors such as x-ray visor which allows you to see through certain things, and the thermal visor which allows you to see how hot/cold things are. It's very useful; if an enemy is hiding, you can see the heat its body is giving off and suprise attack it. Now that's impressive. I was pleasantly surprised to see how well all of my favorite old techniques were executed in a 3D environment, and done from a first-person perspective no less. Only when Samus uses the Morph Ball does it take a third-person perspective, as expected.
The graphics are simply incredible and the detail is astounding on everything, though some of the texture maps could've used a little more work. Most of the enemies from previous incarnations return and there's also some cool-looking new 'faces' as well. And the bosses are impressive and immersive encounters, though I found some of them to be a tad easy.
The music takes a backseat to previous installments in that it's more atmospheric and doesn't have any song in particular that stands out. Actually, what you'll be paying attention to more is the sound effects, which are superb.
This is certainly among the best games ever made by an American company (albeit with much of Nintendo of Japan's support). Definitely worth the trek. I found 98% my first time through. A great game through and through. However, Metroid for NES and SNES still stand above it, undeniably.

Dead or Alive 3 - X-Box - Rating 6
The one thing that kept me coming back to the original Dead or Alive on PS (also SS import) was the massive amount of hidden costumes which could be opened. You'd take a character and run through the game in Arcade Mode and this opened up another costume for whoever you were playing as. While the guys can only get around 5 costumes each, the girls could get 14 each! Then, in DoA2 Tecmo reduced the total amount of costumes for all the girls and guys. And now with DoA3 Tecmo reduced it even further. However, there's a booster disc which adds new costumes for each character.
The fighting in DoA games has steered away from its originally VF-ish pedigree gameplay structure which figures since it was originally built on Sega's Model-2 arcade board, and it was also rumored that Tecmo got to mess around with the VF2 game engine. Therefore, Tecmo wanted to establish its own series; they didn't want to draw up constant comparisons with Sega's flagship fighter. An identity all their own.
I think it's safe to say they found it, though, aside from a few subtle touches here and there, there isn't a drastic difference between DoA3 and some of the other 3D fighters. You still chain attacks together similarly to other fighters, and you use a guard button. The ability to pull off reversals is perhaps the one thing that seperates DoA games moreso than anything else. Ironically, the one feature that does make it stand out the most is also its Achille's heel: using reversals is considered too cheap, too easy to perform. Matches can become nothing much more than reversal contests -- or, who can get more lucky. The other obvious thing that sets DoA titles apart from others is in how it liberally uses the image of female adolescence with rather obvious sexual overtones. Fortunately for Tecmo, I judge games based on an often-overlooked aspect of many games. It's called gameplay and funfactor. Indeed, DoA3 is very fun to play, despite the fact that even an intermediate gamer can master any of the characters.
I've rarely enjoyed listening to any of the music in DoA games, and this one is no exception. Right off the bat I was smacked with an opening song performed by none other than Aerosmith--Wham!--and I knew right from the start not to expect anything here worth taking notice of. It is, admittedly, just fine for while you're fighting, which is good enough I suppose. Sound effects are all well done - every whack, kick, and body slam has a fitting accompanying sound effect, and the voices are also well done. The story mode, well.... you'll have to do some research elsewhere in order to understand any of it. One thing Tecmo doesn't seem to know how to do is write.

Really.... is it that hard Tecmo? Didn't anybody in your offices learn proper writing skills in school or elsewhere? :???:

Immensely fun to play and always great to go back to, this DoA is the best one yet, aside from in the extras department, but according to Itagaki he wants to put the game engine in the forefront. That's fine with me. This was, along with Halo, one of the primary reasons why people originally purchased an X-Box.
Although the game plays like a dream it's also, sadly, a button-masher. No 3D game, save for perhaps Soul Calibur and VF, has had a level of mastery as rewarding as the 2D fighters (particularly Street Fighter). However, DoA is the best-looking 3D fighter available (still) and literally decimates Tekken 4's supposed 3D stages. No matter what you might accuse it of (being just about girls, graphics, button-mashing) it's a very fun game. Flawed, but fun.

Rygar ~ The Legendary Adventure - PS2 - Rating 4
The NES is the original starting point for many of gaming's most illustrious series: Contra, Gradius, Mega Man, Metroid, Final Fantasy, etc. Some titles which were very popular back then never saw a sequel, which is a crime. We'd dream about whipping out brand-spanking new installments to games such as Karnov, Ninja Gaiden, and Adventures of Lolo on the SNES. Unfortunately, this was not to be. (I'm still waiting for another Milon's Secret Castle. ;)) Fortunately, we've seen many attempts to revive some of the most cherished titles. And although there have been few successful attempts (Ninja Gaiden on X-Box comes to mind), there have also been some pretty disappointing attempts as well. Enter Rygar ~ The Legendary Adventure for PS2....
"At long last! The return of Rygar!" At least, that's what I was thinking at first. Where should I start? It's an interesting, unique game in many ways and certainly is taking the right direction. So where does it go wrong? For one thing, although the addition of combos is a good idea Tecmo felt it best to emphasize this element to the point of approaching mundaneness. Not only that, there must be a maximum of 7 or 8 different enemy types, give or take a few color-swaps, throughout the entire game (which isn't long at all). The bosses are a treat in not only the PS2's graphical capabilities but in their design as well. They're also menacingly challenging at first until you get their patterns down. The locales are superb and even have a certain elegance to much of them, particularly the water stage. The music fits the game very well although it isn't the kind of thing I'd listen to for enjoyment (Soul Edge's soundtrack is a great example of how this game's music probably should've been). But, good looks or not, the game suffers from being too repetitious. It would've been better if it were twice as long and had about three times as many enemies. As it is, this is a rather weak effort.

Here is a classic
Magician Lord - Neo Geo - Rating 7
One of my fondest arcade memories is of the first few times I played Magician Lord on the Neo Geo cabinets. As any avid arcade-goer knows, Neo Geo arcade sets usually featured multiple games which you could select from, and each game only costed one quarter to play. I didn't simply remember Magician Lord for its supreme greatness but also for its insane difficulty setting (even harder than at home due to less health!).
Truly classic, this game stands the test of time. 48-MEGS of pure action heaven. The sheer difficulty may turn some gamers off. However, you shouldn't find this to be a problem after awhile. Well, that is until the game realizes how good you're doing and then intentionally makes these floating orb-eye things start coming after you later on to KILL you (should you do so well throughout the first 4 stages or so). Awesome settings, unique enemy design (though there's not a tremendous amount of different types, there's just enough); the bosses and level-designs are what really make this game stand out. You can get this game down to an art form and beat it within about an hour with only 2 continues used (there's infinite, just so you know). What made Magician Lord so different back then were the 6 different transformations you could do. If you weren't really good, though, they wouldn't last long. I must say that it sure doesn't repeat a lot of sprites in the backgrounds, which is especially impressive since this is an older game -- almost everything is unique. The music, particularly the first, second and 5th stage (the one with all the frogs) stand out, even if it's just because they sound so different from other games.
Overall, it's a great game to own and definitely challenging. Its only major flaw is after you've beaten it a few times it gets a little old. However, after a few months you can always go back to it and have a good time. The last boss is a disappointment though. (FYI, you can buy it on eBay for often a slim amount of money, say $30-40 usually.)

Castlevania IV was great, and boasted superb control, but it indeed was too easy, which crippled the experience, since a game of its pacing (which is shared by the non Metroid-flavored games of the series) demands a modicum of challenge to compensate for said pacing, which isn't exactly SMB-esque. As for the music, well-composed as it was, not only did I feel that the instruments were kind of ill-chosen, mostly lacked the intensity and overall feel of that in the other installments. While I dug the rotating room levels, CV4 seemed more like CV1 with a few added gimmicks, namely the multi-directional whip, which, along with the reduced playing field, was what stripped the game of any difficulty. I was a bigger fan of the multiple characters and branching levels/paths seen in CV3 and PCE Drac X, which added greatly to the playability, which was consequently lacking for me in CV4, given that about 11 levels are overkill for a linear entry in the series.

Street Fighter 3 ~ Third Strike - Dreamcast - 8
Not since Street Fighter Alpha 2 have I been so immersed into a SF title as this. Everything tried and true from past incarnations is in one way or another represented in this work. God, why does Capcom have to rule so much?
The fighting system has been given a slight overhaul from the other SF3 titles, and there's no more zooming in and out of the screen. As usual, Capcom has done a fine job of creating a polished, well-balanced fighter that is worthy of the SF name. The graphics are tremendously well done for any 2D game, although Guilty Gear titles have clearer characters due to higher resolution. The music and sound work together well too, though you may think the songs in SF2 were more memorable. There are some very memorable pieces here, and just in case you're wondering, yes, this follows the typically classic Capcom forumla of endearing songwriting and composing, if a bit too cliche in parts.
If you are as fortunate as I am you've opened up all 9 pages in System Direction, allowing you to customize the game to fit your every need. All in all, a wonderful fighting game that rewards skill by allowing more experienced players to slam down the less experienced. The only issues are that Q can do way too much damage and absorb so much that it's almost absurd, and, although Akuma can't take as much punishment as somebody like Alex, he can finish virtually anybody in just 2 good combos + a special move or so, making him a powerhouse. Oh, and Gill is the epitomy of cheapness as usual. Plus, some characters now share backgrounds, which is a downgrade from other SF titles. Still, you're getting your money's worth with SF3 ~ Third Strike.

Hey Capcom, what's taking you so long counting to four!?

What can I say?

Final Fantasy X - PS2 - Rating 0
All I can say is what a letdown! Square almost completely disregarded much of what made the series so special to begin with by abandoning the freedom of exploration and all of its merits, and indulging into crappy dialogues, boring plot (attempts), and lack of individuality between characters. You can basically customize them all to play exactly the same, thus defeating all necessity for any one particular character aside from only one, Yuna, because she can summon a full army of 12 or something summons (give me a break) and that's about as close as you're going to get to individuality.
There are many other problems too. Tidus, Wakka and Riku walk around in futuristic-wannabe hip teen clothing which comes off as repulsive in every way, and there's the fact that Auron is a blatant rip-off of a certain character from another game (I'll let you figure it out). Oh, and Tidus is basically a Disney-esque stupid version of Cloud who isn't anything worth note himself. Kimahri Ronso is Chewbaka from Star Wars after he has shaved, pulled an MJ and colored himself blue, uses a spear and now he can talk (though he doesn't talk much anyway, which might actually be a good thing). To Square's credit, Lulu is unique in her own way and Yuna isn't dressed like utter crap (that is until her starring role in FFX-2; another attempt to cash in).
The game plays like any other Final Fantasy, only now you can, throughout most of the game, keep changing characters mid-battle. Whooptie-do! Plus, after battle you'll go to the *new* sphere grid, a good concept gone awry because now every character can be customized to be virtually the same. Whatever happened to 'individuality'? The game plays like any other FF title minus the free roaming overworld, the cool sidequests of yesterday and now the gamer doesn't need to make any decisions since the entire game is linear and the game basically tells you what to do (a one-track mind). This is Final Fantasy, dumbed down. And, hence, so is the gamer. So much for inciting people to actually THINK about things, stimulate a more inquisitive nature in the gamer and to do and make decisions carefully. How sad... Final Fantasy for the mass market. This is the result of Final Fantasy 7's success. It made Square in general decide to become mass-market and abandon any complicating matters so that they wouldn't discourage the average gamer from getting into an RPG.

The strange thing is Final Fantasy VII is such a great RPG, so why deteriorate?

I must mention the music. What has happened? Seriously. Nobuo Uematsu has gone bad ever since part 7 and it shows. If you combined all the good songs from 8 through 10 you'd only have a small handful of memorable songs and all the rest would be horrid MIDI crap, baaad rock/grunge wannabe-sounding stuff, and now we get 'treated' to horrid j-pop. Jeez. Did Nobuo lose interest in good song/melody-construction and arranging and forsake that for trying to be too ambitious or something?

Somebody help me out because I just can't get a clue...

The enemies and bosses are usually well-designed and animated, to Square's credit. However, what a foolish mistake to make a last boss that cannot defeat your party. Speaking of the last boss, what sheer lameness was that! I won't describe it because, after all, this is supposed to be a review and not a spoiler. I will say this much -- the ending made about as much sense as the game: None whatsoever.
Here's what I'll think about whenever I remember playing FFX:
"But dad! I want to play Blitzball!"
"Crybaby! Cry Crybaby!"
"But dad! I want to be a famous Blitzball player!"
"Stupid boy, you'll never be able to play Blitzball because you SUCK."
"But DAD!"
(young hooded child appears in 4 corners of the screen) "It begins... don't cry."
YEAH!!!! What plot!!!! Good thing it wasn't Square who made Soul Calibur 2, otherwise I'd be reading all those posers saying "Cool! Cloud is a playable character!" Hey Square, you wanna abandon quality and pay off people with advertising revenue and other shady deals to give your games high ratings? Don't expect me to keep buying your games if you keep on sucking up to average consumers and abandon what made your previous games so wonderful. Bottom line: Final Fantasy X stole 35 hours of my life and I'll never get them back.
And oh yeah... what about my $50? What about the $100 for part 8 and 9? That's about $150 of my money wasted. I guess that's my fault, somewhat. Square raised my expectations with Final Fantasy VII and then destroyed my faith with these lackluster titles.

Perhaps the best Castlevania ever

Super Castlevania IV - SNES - Rating 10
This has to be the consummate action game. It's over a decade old, it's only 8-MEG (not even half the memory loaded into even the PS2's RAM at any given time!) and yet it's STILL far and away better than every other action game, save for a few which are close. Definitely superior to any 3D action game I've yet played. And I took it all for granted. Back then, who knew? We'd have thought that, given a decade from then, we would've already been blessed with many more superior Castlevania installments. Indeed, we got quite a treat with Castlevania ~ Symphony of the Night. Many feel that is the best in the series. However, in my opinion, even that game has to stand behind the might that is Castlevania IV.
I've played every Castlevania title there ever was, from the NES days to all the GameBoy titles and even the PC Engine Installment (which I own, fortunately), to all the newer ones. And none have done it quite like C4.
Where to start? Let's begin with the gameplay. Everything about the controls shines through in every aspect. From swinging from platform to platform, to fighting against hordes of baddies, the controls never come to falter. Controlling Belmont is simplified and yet has its intricacies which shine through in the layouts of the stages. The only complaint I have is that it's a little too easy.
The graphics, the overall look of the game really works well. Every stage is designed in a unique manner, and the enemies and bosses still are quite interesting to battle. It's apparent that Konami LOVES utilizing special effects --- rotatiing rooms, zooming bosses, transparencies, a 'room' where the walls are circling INTO the screen... all have a certain charm to them and helped make this title stand out at the time. The bosses are standard Konami quality; you know the deal.
The music is so well composed, so well done that even after all this time it astonishes me how to this day no other game soundtrack has been so well composed. Absolutely phenomenal, and not only does it fit the game perfectly, it stands alone as phenomenal music to give a listen to. Baroque, Classical and Romantic influences abound, all of which is extremely well-arranged and composed. I can't believe they fit this in along with the rest of the game, all at a staggeringly small 8-MEGS.
I just don't know where to criticize it. Perhaps it's a bit easy nowadays. Perhaps it's short by today's standards. However... since its time up to this very day no other action game, 2D or 3D, has equalled Castlevania IV. It's absolutely incredible and if you haven't played this game I just don't know what to say.
Games may get better graphics nowadays with these newer, more powerful consoles but great games never diminish. The reason this game gets a 10 is because to this day, aside from a select few (Strider, Contra 3, Gunstar Heroes), there hasn't been a game quite like it, and there hasn't been an action game (including on these new systems) as well done overall as Castlevania IV. It takes its place among the greatest achievements in gaming history.

Kung Fu - NES - Rating 6
Back around the time when NES and Sega Master System were released, there was an arcade released in 1984 by Irem that was so awesome to play, yet so damn hard that I couldn't get past the second stage. That game was Kung Fu.
Anyone who knows anything about NES has played Kung Fu. When it was first released for NES, I played it at least as much as Super Mario Brothers. To say that I love this game is an understatement; there hasn't been a game like it since. Sure, there may have been a thousand action/platformers with some martial artist protagonist, but this was (and is still) one of the most fun and challenging to play.
Controls are simple - you progress through the stages by punching and kicking all the bad guys that come rushing out, and almost all of them are Grippers; they try to kill you by what can only be described as some kind of hugging technique. And if you really get unlucky you'll wind up in a massive group-4 hug. Beware. The punching and kicking in this game has never been duplicated as well (far as I can tell) mainly because of how lightning quick all your attacks are, and all are accompanied by an all-too-familiar Bruce Lee-ish "A-TA!!!". There are 5 stages, each presenting its own problems in need of recitfication (particularly stages 2 - 4).
I must mention the bosses. They are a very diverse bunch with the magician at the end of stage 4 being the worst to deal with. All of them have a weakness towards one particular attack in general, and they have their own personal means of dishing out punishment. Where the game gets complicated is once you've beaten it a couple times or so because after you defeat Mr X at the end of Stage 5 you return to stage 1 all over again and this time the enemies are less-shy about running up and attacking you while you're trying to deal with the bosses and this can get frusturating. Add to this the fact that as you get further into it the knive-throwers all become Ted Williams and we've got a problem. I've made it to Dragon #5 (meaning I've beaten it 5 times in a row) and got wasted on, of all stages, the second (because of all those snakes! DAMN YOU ALL!!!).
And who can forget that one song that plays on every level.
All in all, this is still a fun game that will give you a hard time later on and challenge you to better your score. If you still own the instruction manual for the game it tells you how to get 5000 points from a normal enemy. But I recommend you focus on staying alive first and foremost.
Oh, and if you own a Turbo-Grafx (PC Engine) get Vigilante which was also made by Irem. That game is about as similar to Kung Fu as I have yet seen, though it's not quite as good.

Lords of Thunder - TurboDuo - Rating 8
When this game first came out the one thing everybody talked about was its metal, almost Yngwie Malmsteen-like guitar-driven soundtrack. And man, THAT moreso than anything else was what made this shooter an experience like no other before.
Hudson Soft is to be praised for their stellar follow-up to Gates of Thunder. This is what shooting games are all about. It plays great, it looks great, it sounds great and it just rocks. I've never seen a shooting game designed quite like this. The controls are effortless and they'd better be since this game takes no prisoners (on the super difficulty setting in particular). Though you can get it down on normal and probably hard without having to continue, I DOUBT you'll do the same on super. No matter what you do (even if you do the trick for 10,000 in money) you're still gonna get whipped. But at least on any difficulty you choose you get the full ending anyhow.
The game starts off by allowing you to select your stage via the world map. From there you will select what armor you want for that particular stage. Pick carefully because some armors are worse in some areas than others (and each one determines what kind of attack you'll do). Then you have to enter the shop where you can buy health, weapon power-ups, shields and continues, and then get into the heat of action.
All great shooters are known for their variety in enemies and bosses. Lords of Thunder has some very cool enemies and some of the best bosses ever for a 2D shooter. And it's not just the enemies that are attacking you. Massive spiked-balls swaying from the ceilings, walls closing in around you, fire swooping up from pools of lava, etc. and all the while enemies are trying their best to bring you down. Sound difficult? It is, but on easy or normal difficulty it shouldn't be that big of a problem since you have an energy meter and you can even buy an extra life so that if you're energy runs out it automatically refills completely. However, you only have one life. If you die you have to use up a continue, and they're sparse. Think Forgotten Worlds and you should have a pretty good idea how this game works.
As I said before, the music is absolutely amazing and will probably make you want to listen to the soundtrack when you're not playing the game. It really fits the game's look and makes tense moments even more tense (put it on super just for the hell of it, start the game, and crank up the volume and tell me that's not an intense gaming experience ). T's Music is to be commended for their fine efforts.
Though there probably isn't a harder shooting game than Pulstar or Viewpoint, there aren't much that are quite as fun or as cool as Lords of Thunder. There really isn't anything the game does wrong. It's more fun to play than any 3D shooting game thus far (yes, including PDO and Starfox) and is proof that you can never underestimate 2D gaming. Now, if Hudson did a 3D game similar to this the right way they could probably have the best 3D shooter ever made.
FYI, you can also find LoT on Sega CD, but the colors have been reduced from 512 on-screen at once to 64. But from what I know it still plays the same so you're really not losing much.

98% on your first try? Let me guess, you miss an energy tank? The one in Magmoor Cavern is one tough s.o.b. You've probably used a guide for this game. ;)

Honestly, what kind of things can they add that will make people play each game in the Metroid series over & over. Its a one way journey through Tallon IV in MP, like the rest of the series. Same thing with Zelda, once you beat it, you really don't want to play it over because you be doing the same thing and there are no suprises.

Atleast I'm gonna play Metroid Prime in hard mode.

__________________
When life gives you melons, STFU and eat your damn melons.

Well there's a few things that plaqued Prime. For one, I felt there was way too much emphasis on analyzing every little thing and this is annoying. Another is the different visions you have, while not bad at all, can make things tedious and unintentionally make you get hit by things you didn't know were around because it was so hard to see them. Not only that, with previous installments the music really made things more moody, interesting and unique while with this one the music is just somewhere off in the distance usually, and when it is in the forefront it's nothing impressive. The controls are stellar, as expected and there's a lot to love about Metroid Prime. But the added hard mode after I beat it does nothing for me. I'm not interested in earning the original Metroid since I own the game and certainly don't care either way whether or not I get to wear the suit in Fusion. Sorry, that just doesn't cut it for me.

Nonetheless, it's a fine product well worth the invested time, as I've said. And no, I didn't have a strategy guide. I always, ALWAYS play through a game alone the first time so as not to have it ruined.

The scanning isn't necessary or required, I thought it was unique, as most everything can be scanned. Only a few place required you to scanned to unlock doors and stuff. The visor add a lot of twist to the game, especially after the blackout when you first got it, and all of sudden, you're under attack. The visors are there for exploration, which the series is emphasis for.

__________________
When life gives you melons, STFU and eat your damn melons.

A little too much, if you ask me. Oh and, if you are to get a high percentage by the end, it is essential that you analyze every little thing (like I had to do in order to get 98%). At least it's a unique idea implemented for the first time, far as I know, to the Metroid universe. It could've been utilized far better.

Your percentage is based on how many items you find, not what you scanned, that incudes missiles expansion, enery tanks, etc. If you scanned 50% of the in game enemies, you get a image art gallery, and if you scanned all the creatures, you unlock the second. Though I scanned all the pirate messages and Chozo Lore, to give an idea of what Tallon IV was like. This game mirror OoT in a lot of ways, from the bosses, to the puzzles, and exploration.

__________________
When life gives you melons, STFU and eat your damn melons.

Phantasy Star 2 - Sega Genesis - Rating 9
Back then, before internet sites like IGN ever had a chance of ruining an RPG by showing you 500 videos of the game, there was a time when you only had pictures in a game magazine and when the entire purpose of game magazines was to take games on each respected platform, rate and review them in a fair, open-minded and professional manner rather than have the graphics and hype overshadow poorly crafted titles. Because back then if the game sucked you knew it, everybody else knew it, and (including especially) game companies all knew it.
Back then, there was a game for Genesis with a sparse 6-MEGS of power (I've heard it's actually 7 but nobody has confirmed this, far as I know) which was so big for its time that it needed to come with a hint book (more like a strategy guide to me). I, like many other gamers who had game magazines back then, would stare at the screen shots and read the same paragraphs over and over again, always analyzing anything and everything I possibly could about it.... and would even bring (sneak) game magazines to school and drool with some of my friends over screenshots of upcoming hot titles.
I remember vividly the day I got Phantasy Star 2. It was like an event. Same goes for my father -- he paid the full $90 for it which, especially at that time, was too much for a game.
Not to me though. This game was worth every penny and then some. Phantasy Star 2 changed the way I looked at RPGs forever.
First things first, the opening was for its time awe-inspiring. For the first time characters were being presented to me in almost full-screen, 16-bit quality graphics and that left an impression that hasn't rubbed off to this day. You begin in Paseo where you are an agent given a mission to investigate certain mishaps that have taken place on the planet of Motavia (your home planet) involving Biomonsters and Mother Brain. Nei joins you and you level up outside the town, gaining experience and Meseta (the currency) so you can buy better weapons, armor and items before you head out on your adventure.
The graphics were, at the time, awesome. In fact, it's still cool to see all the enemy animation, though the fighting backgrounds always consist of a blue grid and that's a downgrade from even the original Sega Master System PS. But I didn't care, and still don't. The locations and such are plain by today's standards. However they get the job done and are perfectly fine for a Genesis game.
The controls are standard RPG fare. You have your menu screens, you walk around and talk to people, buy, sell, fight, etc. The fighting system is simple and intuitive: just set all the characters to do what you want and you fight like basically any other RPG, only you sit back and watch the action unfold until every player and enemy has had their turn and then it's back to selecting what you want to do.
The Phantasy Star series has always had some cool songs and this one is no exception. From Silent Zone to Death Place there are some nice pieces here and there. Some of them sound kinda odd, but for a system with only 6 voices of usually poor quality it certainly isn't music that you want to really get into, though some tunes are undeniably good, and definitely fit the game's locales/moods. I enjoy it. Good music can even be predominantly monophonic, so I guess that 6 voice limit doesn't mean much. Besides, have you ever listened to the first stage song in The Adventures of Bayou Billy for NES (by Konami)? NES is 4 channels and that song sounds VERY cool!
All said and done, the quest isn't super long (about 20 or so hours), there's only 4 bosses which makes boss fighting all the more a dramatic moment to say the least, including one of them being 3 indestructable robots later on (if you don't know what I'm talking about and intend to try the game on Genesis or GBA, you'll see). And, man, what a cool albeit kinda short ending, especially for a Genesis.
Definitely worth the invested time, and you can even find a sound test hidden in a town somewhere which only plays all the songs you've actually heard up to whatever point you're at within the quest itself -- the more songs you hear, the more is accessible. I don't want to spoil anything but there comes a time in the game where there's a sidequest involving something called Moon Dew which can resurrect someone. If you get it, save it for one particular point in time (think Final Fantasy 7 - at the end of Disc 1).
Until next time... happy gaming.

Ghouls 'N Ghosts - Sega Genesis - Rating 7
I considered myself pretty good at games by the time I bought the 5-MEG arcade conversion of Ghouls 'N Ghosts. I had beaten some notoriously difficult games previously: TMNT, Blaster Master, Ninja Gaiden, Faxanadu, Life Force... but back then, you just never knew what to expect.
That night was one of those nights.
I had never before, and probably never again thereafter, been wasted so many times within the first few stages than with G&G (save for perhaps the original). And what a lesson in gaming I got. My first night I remember perfectly - it was a school night, and I had stayed up until about 1:30am in the morning trying to beat the third boss (the eye in the floating cloud) over and over again but to no avail.
Eventually I finished the game, only to find myself back at the starting point and now had to do the entire thing again, this time even harder than before before I could fight the last boss. Sir Arthur must save Princess Guinevere from the evil devil Loki because he's 'taken hostage' hers and all the souls of the people in the kindgom.
The graphics are fine and still look alright even today. There's tons of enemies scattered all over, and in the first level when you reach the tree with the huge vultures and you start killing them one of the most impressive graphic displays from those early Genesis days takes place as tons of feathers come floating downward (with slowdown, but who cares?). Back then it felt almost like having an arcade at home. The rest of the stages are nice, especially stage 4 with all the crystals everywhere, and though the beginning of 2 is plain it lends itself well to this game's premises.
I must mention the bosses. These were (and still are) some of the coolest-designed bosses I've seen. And remember, this was before Castlevania IV, Devil May Cry, Axelay, etc. These things were HUGE and, in some circumstances, quite annoying to do battle with. Take the giant hornet boss in the castle. Sure, it wasn't all that hard, but try and say that if Arthur's weapon is the short-ranged sword. I had to reset the entire game all because of that foolish mistake! Fighting against two Lucifers at once in the last castle (the final boss from part 1), the huge larva at the end of the crystal caves taking up more than 2 screens(!), the fire beast at the end of the burning village, and even the first boss... all were impressive to do battle with. And Loki himself takes up the entire screen... unprecedented for the time. Controls are simple: jump, attack (up, down, left, and right), charge your weapon once you get the magic armor and unleash magic attacks (or defenses, depending on the weapon).
The music is pretty good and matches the game perfectly. I particularly like the ending theme. The sound effects are the usual Genesis blangs, blips and bleeps but are well done nonetheless.
Nowadays I can rush through the game both times through without much difficulty. This game helped me become a better gamer. It remains a quintissential action game for any system and is a worthy addition to any gamer's library. Sega did a wonderful job porting this classic Capcom arcade to Genesis.